Lake Malice - The Garage, London, 09/10/26 - with support from Eville and Chaosbay
Metalcore, hyperpop, electronica, industrial chaos and catchy hooks are just part of what makes Lake Malice one of the most exciting names in the UK's alternative scene right now.
With debut album I Wanna Know If It's Real being released last month, the Brighton-based duo have taken their genre-defying sound on tour, arriving at London's The Garage with support from Eville and Chaosbay.
Photos by Charlotte Bates @turbulent_music Full galleries available here
Eville
Eville take the attitude of hyperpop and collide it headfirst with the aggression of nu-metal it's loud, unapologetic and dripping with confidence.
Front woman Eva Sheldrake, bassist Jude Richards and drummer Milo Hemsley are the driving forces behind the chaos, delivering a cocktail of snarling vocals, electronic beats and chunky riffs that feels perfectly at home alongside tonight's headliners. The mix of girlypop pink and knuckledusters isn't what you'd first expect to see from a vocalist that can hold her own screams and command a wall of death, but the combination works! Tracks such as 'Bikini Top' and 'Flip Phone' demonstrate their knack for making something simultaneously obnoxious, infectious and ridiculously fun, while 'No Pictures Please' brings an extra helping of heavy attitude.
The crowd are fully invested the entire show, mosh pits go on throughout multiple tracks and theres even a stage invasion which cracks up the band members as multiple people in bikini's and masks dance their way across the stage. There's something refreshing about a band that refuses to make themselves more palatable and Eville have the confidence and talent to push their sound into bigger things.
Chaosbay
Germany's Chaosbay combine progressive metalcore precision with layered melodies and electronic flourishes. There are fans on the barricade who have come from Germany mainly to see Chaosbay which alone shows they already have a dedicated fanbase.
Their set moves through songs 'MONEY', 'Passenger' and 'MANIAC IN THE MIRROR', demonstrating a sound that's technically impressive whilst also providing huge choruses that counterbalance the heavier moments. Vocalist Jan Listing demonstates vast vocal ability throughout the set, contrasting harmonic melodies to the heavy riffs. Each instrumentalist gives a polished performance tonight whilst keeping up the energy on stage, its clear to see that this is a band that works as one.
A cover of The Police's 'Message in a Bottle' is a particularly interesting addition. Taking such a familiar track and pulling it into modern metalcore territory is a risky move, but it's exactly the kind of creative curveball that makes this tour's line-up work so well.
Lake Malice
Vocalist Alice Guala and guitarist Blake Cornwall have spent the past few years establishing a reputation as one of the most exciting live acts on the alternative circuit, and with 'I Wanna Know If It's Real', they've finally got the full-length record to back it up. It's an album that refuses to settle into one particular sound, jumping between crushing heaviness, sugary pop melodies and glitchy electronics that intertwining in such a unique way thats theres no mistaking who the tracks belong to.
Kicking off with 'Chrome Red', the tracks pulsing electronics and infectious hooks provide a gateway into Lake Malice's unique universe, whilst the following track 'Scatterbrain' wastes no time reminding everyone that beneath the glossy production, this band can still deliver a serious beating.
What makes Lake Malice particularly compelling is the contrast between Guala's vocal versatility and Cornwall's relentless guitar work; from moments of delicate, almost ethereal melodies to unleashing screams that rival metal vocalists over balanced punishing riffs with electronic textures that give the songs their distinctive edge.
'Ghost In A Hell' and 'Nobody Wants To Be You' highlight the darker, more confrontational side of the band's songwriting, while 90's Btch leans into their electronic influences with the sort of shameless enthusiasm that would make genre purists break out in a cold sweat.
Eville return to the stage during 'Main Character Energy', transforming an already explosive track into a song that was made to be a collaboration between both artists. This went down especially well with the crowd, everyone was moving one way or another be it jumping or starting a mosh pit.
'rly ok' was already set to go out with a bang, as people brought inflatable saxphones to play along with the solo but we were treated to the real deal as a saxophonist took to the stage, giving the live track an extra layer of depth.
Lake Malice also brought along a cover song, Faithless and Bebe Rexha's 'New Religion', an unlikely choice that however makes sense when filtered through Lake Malice's distinctive musical identity where the line between dance floor euphoria and mosh pit carnage is practically nonexistent.
For years, Lake Malice have been appearing on festival posters and support announcements, steadily winning over audiences without quite receiving the recognition they deserve. Now, armed with a debut album that captures the full extent of their creativity, they're beginning to look less like an exciting prospect and more like a strong force within modern alternative music.
It's satisfying seeing a band embrace everything that makes them different rather than sanding down their edges in pursuit of mainstream acceptance. Lake Malice aren't reinventing heavy music, they're pulling it apart and putting it back together in their own image.
With the strength of 'I Wanna Know If It's Real' behind them, it's difficult to imagine them remaining in venues of this size for much longer.
Setlist
Chrome Red
Scatterbrain
Magic Square
Ghost in a Hell
Nobody Wants To Be You
90's Btch
Main Character Energy (with Eville)
Stop the Party
Real Life
rly ok
Mitsuko
Blossom
New Religion (Faithless feat. Bebe Rexha cover)
Bloodbath
